LeBron James assesses the Lakers' first quarter of the regular season

The Los Angeles Lakers are currently in ninth place in the Western Conference with a 12-10 record. They are clearly not one of the best teams in the league, but things could be worse. Especially as they are adapting to a new coach, JJ Redick, who is still trying to fix problems in defense and offense and optimize the team around Anthony Davis and LeBron James.

In the first quarter of the season, the Purple and Gold have been very inconsistent in terms of results. There are nights when the Lakers are capable of beating the best teams in the league, but then they show they are capable of being the complete opposite to the point of looking like one of the worst teams in the NBA.

The defense has been inconsistent, and the offense has dropped significantly, as demonstrated in the last game against the Timberwolves, in which they scored 80 points.

The Lakers still have to trust the process

LeBron James addressed the Lakers' ups and downs in comments to Spectrum SportsNet. “It’s been good at times, obviously. It’s been bad at other times. But I think it was kind of expected with a new system, a new coaching staff, new players and trying to fine-tune some things. I wouldn’t say, ‘I’m happy with that. ’ You never want to say that and be limited by that idea. But it is what it is. Our record is our record, but we just want to keep getting better on both ends of the floor because the West is tough, and we know that,”

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The Western Conference is very competitive and there is very little room for error for the teams who aspire to make it to the postseason.

Right now, the difference between second and 11th place is only four losses, so they can still hope to continue climbing the standings to avoid the Play-In at the end of the regular season.

However, if the Lakers do not improve and continue to accumulate losses, they could get into trouble to the point of not qualifying for the playoffs.